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Posted July 28, 2015

Airgas earnings down for Q1

Airgas reported that first quarter sales increased 3% over the prior year to $1.3 billion.


Organic sales were up 2% over the prior year, with gas and rent up 5% and hardgoods down 3%.

In the Distribution segment, organic sales were flat compared to the prior year, with gas and rent up 2% and hardgoods down 3%. In the All Other Operations segment, organic sales were up 16%, primarily driven by increased sales in the refrigerants, CO2 and dry ice businesses. Acquisitions contributed sales growth of 1% in the quarter on both a consolidated basis and in the Distribution segment.

Earnings per diluted share of $1.16 for its first quarter were down 2% compared to the prior year earnings per diluted share of $1.18. Earnings of $88.2 million compared to earnings of $88.8 million in the same period a year ago.

"As anticipated, sales to our customers engaged in the energy and chemical and the manufacturing and metal fabrication sectors remained challenged through the quarter,” said Airgas president and chief executive officer Michael L. Molinini. “One bright spot is the continued strength we are seeing in non-residential construction. After a relatively slow calendar 2014, our March 2015 quarter saw year-over-year growth in non-residential construction of 5% and this quarter year-over-year growth reached 6%. We remain focused on things we can control including leveraging our industry leading platform and managing expenses.”

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